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AT&T Imposes Another $5 Rate Hike On Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: ATT is raising the price of its grandfathered unlimited data plans by $5 a month, the second such increase in the past year. The price increase affects longtime mobile customers who have held onto unlimited data plans for years after ATT stopped selling them to new subscribers. The latest price increase was reported by DSLReports yesterday, and ATT confirmed the move to Ars. "If you have a legacy unlimited data plan, you can keep it; however, beginning in March 2017, it will increase by $5 per month," ATT said. The unlimited data price had been $30 a month for seven years, until ATT raised it to $35 in February 2016. The price increase this year will bring it up to $40. That amount is just for data: Including voice and texting, the smartphone plans cost around $90 a month. ATT encouraged customers to move to one of its new plans, most of which have data limits, saying the newer packages "provide several benefits that our legacy unlimited plan doesn't." For example, the newer plans support mobile hotspot connections allowing a phone's Internet service to be shared with another device. ATT had stopped selling unlimited smartphone data to new customers and to customers who are switching plans, but last year introduced a new unlimited plan that's available only to people who also subscribe to DirecTV or U-verse TV.
"Thank you sir, may I have another"
I thought AT&T had some great points advocating switching away from a low-priced, unlimited data plan - so I switched. I realize not everyone will agree with me, and for those who don't - you can keep AT&T.
I was AT&T since before they sold off wireless to Cingular. Got tired of the iPhone and switched to a Nexus late last year, then I bit the bullet and dropped AT&T for Google's Fi service. My only complaint with Fi is that it just works for Nexus and Pixel phones. The service and cost structures are incredibly refreshing (what do you mean I get credit back for unused data and don't get raped for overage charges???).
tl;dr: To hell with AT&T and the rest.
Since I have a Real Computer with Real Internet, I don't use massive amounts of mobile data, so I went with Ting and am pretty happy with the sub-$20 bills so far.
Because Fuck You that's why.
You're wrong. Raising it $5 at a time is probably one the smartest things any company has ever done.
It helps them discover what people are willing to pay for a given amount of bandwidth (hint: they know how much each person is using).
This will help them optimize the prices of future plans for maximum profit.
I was on the grandfathered plan but when you realize that the "Unlimited" plan is really just a 2GB or 3GB plan (they've changed it a couple times), and then throttling down to EDGE speeds the other plans are just cheaper, since this is what their other plans do as well. And "free" unlimited texting (a $20 add-on to the grandfathered plan). And you can hotspot. And unlimited voice. And you can add additional phones for pretty cheap.
There really is no reason to hang on to those grandfathered plans unless you don't text (pretty much at all), or you expect some day the FCC will force AT&T to unthrottle the unlimited plans, and you never need to hotspot.
Oh AT&T, you could've had me as a life long customer. I only use a reasonable amount of data, but the allure of my unlimited plan would have kept me bound to you for life. Instead you are pricing out your most loyal customers. Once the limited data plans becomes more price competitive than than the grandfathered unlimited plan for the amount of data I typically use, I will certainly be evaluating all options open to me.. And I may choose Verizon for better service or TMobile for better international roaming and more/unlimited data.
Verizon hiked our unlimited prices by $20 you ATT UDPers have had TWO price hikes and you're still $10 short!
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
Depends a bit on which European country, mind you.
In Denmark, a new plan called Plenti offers unlimited minutes, texts, and data for 119 DKR (approximately 17-18 USD) per month. If you tether they cap that data at 50 GB per month.
Meanwhile in Germany, just thirty minutes from the Danish border, Vodafone very kindly upgraded my phone's data plan last month from 200 MB per month to 500 MB per month, and I pay some 20 or 25 Euro (same in USD, basically) per month for that crap.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
The unlimited plans no longer are capped at 5gb before they throttle you. It's now set around 22gb, and the throttling is only if the cell tower is congested.
Any contract attorney would advise you NOT to do that. Apparently AT&T didn't listen to their lawyers or figured the good press now out weighs the eventual bad press later.
I don't see the problem, as long as they can raise the price to whatever they want. They are in complete control.
Telecommunications in the US are controlled almost solely by a cartel of major players that do not prefer to compete on pricing.
Total Wireless has a 4-line plan with 15 GB shared data for $100 a month (taxes included), and it drops to $95 per month if you get auto-refill.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
I was AT&T since before they sold off wireless to Cingular
That only sort of happened. AT&T Wireless was already spun off from AT&T when it was sold to SBC/Bellsouth (Cingular). Then SBC bought AT&T and renamed itself AT&T. Then bought Bellsouth and renamed Cingular to AT&T.
Chart form: https://www.att.com/Common/mer...
Video explanation: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/vid... (Sorry, no longer on Youtube)